Wednesday, December 06, 2006

JAMIROQUAI’S ‘HIGH TIMES: SINGLES 1992-2006’

When Jamiroquai exploded onto the music scene with When You Gonna Learn in 1992, few thought that his vintage jazz-funk, sweet horn grooves and quick dance moves would survive 14 years, let alone sell over 20 million albums, receive Grammy & MTV Awards and see Jay Kay & Co. embark on world tours, successfully spanning the globe several times over. High Times: Singles 1992-2006, is a timely reminder of the sheer strength and depth of Jamiroquai's back catalogue, which is presented in all its glory with two new tracks: The funky and hard-edged Radio, and lead single Runaway, a blistering mix of disco strings and infectious bass lines.

One of the UK's greatest musical exports of the past 20 years, Jamiroquai's career took a new direction when the anti-war anthem Too Young To Die, went Top 10 in England in 1993. By the time the inner-city social commentary of his sophomore album Return Of The Space Cowboy hit the shelves Jamiroquai became the face of British urban music. However, it was 1997's Traveling Without Moving, that took Jamiroquai over the top and to the masses. After the dust settled, the album, singles and the irresistibly catchy Virtual Insanity video directed by Jonathan Glazer, had netted 5 MTV Awards, a Grammy, put Jamiroquai on the cover of USA Today and sold more than a million albums in America. Global hits such as Cosmic Girl and Deeper Underground followed, as well as Jamiroquai classics like Little L, Canned Heat, and Love Foolosophy.

The special edition of High Times: Singles 1992-2006, comes with an extra disc of various Jamiroquai remixes (including David Morales, Masters At Work and Bob Sinclar) and videos. In an era when everything's a sanitized sound bite, Jamiroquai are the one band who can be relied upon for their full, frank and unedited opinion. As High Times: Singles 1992-2006 proves with every single frenetic track, music, like the rest of life, would be a hell of a lot duller without them.

Jamiroquai is currently touring and gearing up for their last two shows of the year. They next appear west of the Mississippi at Sam Bond’s Garage in Eugene on December 6, and then in New York at Arlene’s Grocery on December 11.

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